Panasonic’s D-snap now even more cluttered with Bluetooth

If you look closely at the Panasonic SV-SD950N’s jumble of controls (go ahead, look, we know it hurts) you’ll notice a few new icons: a telephone and Bluetooth. No, they haven’t turned their latest D-snap Audio player into a Bluetooth enabled phone. However, they have enabled the A2DP, AVRCP, and HFP Bluetooth profiles allowing their DAP to pair and control your Bluetooth-equipped stereo headset, phone, and handsfree rig in your car or office. Otherwise, we’re looking at the same ol’ D-snap only with far less juice with Bluetooth enabled. After all, it’s Bluetooth 2.0, not 2.1. Hitting Japan on September 21 for ¥25,000 (about $219) with 1GB SD card.

Jabra BT8030 bluetooth headset works as a speaker too

While the kids at the back of buses everywhere may already be aware of the fact that headphones can act as speakers if turned up loud enough, the rest of humanity tends to keep the volume down, and is therefore unawares. Jabra has latched onto this concept and created the BT8030, which can act as a bluetooth headset when you’re on the move, and then switch into a speakerphone mode for Skype at your laptop. The speaker / headphone combo will also play music over Bluetooth, lasting up to 26 hours in music mode, 32 hours in talk mode, and sitting in standby for up to 25 days. It’ll retail for $249.99, although we’re not sure when you’ll be able to pick one up.

Parrot Bluetooth Car Kit from IDLDPL

Aug 13, 2007

IDLDPL has launched the Gen-Next “Parrot 3200 LC-COLOR PLUS’ in the Indian market.

“Parrot 3200 LS-COLOR PLUS” is a Bluetooth-enabled, full-featured installed car kit with a large bright color TFT screen, and full duplex audio.
It pairs with up to 5 phones, stores up to 1,000 contacts, and supports 150 voice tags for true voice-controlled and hands-free calling. Once paired with a Bluetooth phone, it automatically synchronizes with the cell-phone address book. And while calling or receiving calls, the screen displays the person’s name, phone number, and his/her photograph.

According to IDLDPL, the device makes for voice not to get distorted at all times, the reason being Parrot’s latest digital signal processing (DSP) technology called Parrot Beamforming.

Parrot Beamforming utilizes advanced noise and echo cancellation technology in combination with two highly sensitive microphones, which help the system to identify and eliminate unwanted background noise while isolating the driver’s voice.

The LS-COLOR PLUS looks almost like a MP4 player and has a TFT color display unit integrated with a pair of external microphones. The TFT can be adjusted for brightness and contrast. The color and user interface can be customized as per user preference.

Speaking on the occasion, Surinder Saini, brand manager for Parrot, IDLDPL, said, “Parrot 3200 LS-color plus Bluetooth car kit enriches our portfolio of Bluetooth devices. I think it is the perfect blend of technology and aesthetics at good price. Every self-driven car finds a definite value in 3200LS-color plus. The driver does not get distracted while talking through this wonderful Parrot device, thus concentrates on the road.”

The product is available through most large retail stores and B2C Web sites for Rs 16,690 apiece.